Sasaki Named SSC Defensive Player of the Year; Second Team All-SSC

LAKELAND, Fla. – Sophomore Nako Sasaki of the Florida Southern College volleyball team becomes the first Moccasin in program history to be named Sunshine State Conference Defensive Player of the Year the league office announced Monday (Nov. 24) afternoon. Sasaki also earned All-SSC Second Team honors for her performance on the court this season.
 
The SSC Defensive Player of the Year award was first given out following the 2023 season and went to JJ Ramirez of the University of Tampa. Isabella Gentile of Lynn University took home the second award in 2024 while Sasaki becomes the third honoree in conference history.   
 
Sasaki led the conference and ranked 43^rd in the nation in digs per set this season at 4.96 while her 536 total digs ranked second in the league and 37^th in NCAA Division II. She tallied double-digit digs in all but one match this season including a high of 31 achieved versus Hillsdale in the season opening tournament. She also reached 30 digs versus Embry-Riddle in late October. She posted a trio of double-doubles with double-digit assists versus Eckerd, Florida Tech and Embry-Riddle. Sasaki's season average of 4.96 digs per set ranks fourth in the single season FSC Record Book while her 536 digs rank eighth.
 
Player of the Year: Valeriya Kozlova, Barry
Defensive Player of the Year: Nako Sasaki, Florida Southern
Setter of the Year: Grace Reynolds, Palm Beach Atlantic
Freshman of the Year: Valeriya Kozlova, Barry
Coach of the Year: Brian Imperiale, Tampa
 

2025 Volleyball ALL-SSC First Team
Pos.	Name	School	Yr.	Hometown
OH/RS	Valeriya Kozlova	Barry	Fr.	Moscow, Russia
OH	Cordelia Kearns*	Florida Tech	Jr.	Lake Mills, Wisconsin
OH	Connor Rahn~	Tampa	So.	Orange Park, Florida
OH	Kinga Michalska	Eckerd	Sr.	Jaroslaw, Poland
MB	Olivia Aniol*	Nova Southeastern	Sr.	Tarpon Springs, Florida
RS/OH	Veronika Eremeeva*Δ	Barry	So.	Moscow, Russia
S	Grace Reynolds	Palm Beach Atlantic	Sr.	Martinsville, Indiana
Opp	Nathaly Perez^†	Tampa	Sr.	Tegucigalpa, Honduras
S	Ula Gorjup	Lynn	So.	ljubljana, Slovenia
2025 Volleyball ALL-SSC Second Team
Pos.	Name	School	Yr.	Hometown
OH	Tess Schrenger~#	Tampa	Sr.	Louisville, Kentucky
OH	Isabella Rujano^‡	Embry-Riddle	Sr.	Orlando, Florida
OH	Kaley Board	Palm Beach Atlantic	Jr.	Lake Worth, Florida
OH	Varvara Osychenko^‡Δ	Barry	Jr.	Chelyabinsk, Russia
OH	Nadia Rossi	Lynn	Gr.	Pradalunga, Italy
MB	Jenna Davis‡	Tampa	Sr.	St. Petersburg, Florida
L	Nako Sasaki	Florida Southern	So.	Fukushima, Japan
OH	Caiden Largent	Nova Southeastern	Jr.	Advance, North Carolina
L	Kari Bogen~	Florida Tech	Sr.	Sola, Norway
2025 Volleyball ALL-SSC Third Team
Pos.	Name	School	Yr.	Hometown
MB	Rachel Gregg	Tampa	Sr.	Newnan, Georgia
OH	Dakota Zieman	Embry-Riddle	Fr.	Eastvale, California
RS	Marta Tsaneva	Rollins	Sr.	Sofia, Bulgaria
MB	Ivana Zujovic	Barry	Jr.	Tampa, Florida
RS	Taylor Stockman^‡&Δ	Nova Southeastern	Sr.	Overland Park, Kansas
S	Gabi Jedrzejczak	Eckerd	Sr.	Szamotuly, Poland
L	Ana Rivera	Tampa	Jr.	Gurabo, Puerto Rico
MB	Harper Stokes	Palm Beach Atlantic	Sr.	Little Rock, Arkansas
MB	Haley Manjack	Embry-Riddle	Jr.	Houston, Texas

 
* = 2025 First Team All-SSC                               ^ = 2024 Second Team All-SSC                         ~ = 2024 Third Team All-SSC
† = 2023 First Team All-SSC                               ‡ = 2023 Second Team All-SSC                          # = 2023 Third Team All-SSC
& = 2022 Third Team All-SSC                            Δ  = Previously named Freshman OTY

¹ Previous BU Players of the Year: Wei Liu (1993), Mickisha Hurley (1995), Cindy Yuan (1996-98), Jade Harper (2000), Frenanda Brino (2003-04), Julia Teixeira (2010), Diana Akopova (2022 & 2024)
² Previous BU Freshmen of the Year: Kristina Filimonova (2016), Varvara Osychenko (2023), Veronika Eremeeva (2024)